Redemption
by Tricia Belle
Summary: Lucas finds a way to get out of the triangle without having to choose between the girls—by dropping them both for a girl he met on the internet.


**I'm pretty sure there are similar fics out there but here's my take on Girl Meets Jexica. I'm really proud of this oneshot so I hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

Redemption

It was lunch time, and Riley and her friends, minus Lucas, were sitting at a table in the school cafeteria. Everyone was engaged in their own activities. Maya and Zay were competing against each other in trash basketball, Farkle was showing Smackle an academic article on his phone that related to what they were learning in chemistry that week, and Riley was on her phone, typing a message on the school's social networking site.

When the group first started ninth grade, everyone made accounts on the school's social media. Riley had created two, one for herself and one for her alter-ego she named Jexica. She created an alter-ego because she was afraid to put all her quirks and interests on her real profile. She was afraid that no one would like the real Riley. So she decided it would be easier to put her real self under a pseudonym.

For months, the triangle had taken a toll on Riley, Lucas, and Maya. Lucas was torn between the two girls, and he couldn't make a decision because he didn't want to hurt the other one. This triangle had resulted in the three of them distancing themselves from each other. Riley and Maya knew that their distance was only temporary because they were Riley and Maya. Lucas, on the other hand, wasn't so sure if things were ever going to return to normal between the three of them.

Because Riley didn't talk to Lucas too often anymore, she was surprised to hear his voice in her ear.

"Watcha doin'?" Lucas asked as he sat down beside Riley with his lunch tray. He tried to peek over her shoulder to see what she was typing, but Riley turned away and hit send before looking at him.

"Nothing," Riley replied, shoving her phone into her cardigan's pocket then taking a sip from her water bottle.

"Anyway, I have an announcement!" Lucas said a bit loudly to get the attention of the rest of his friends at the table. Everyone at the table turned to look at him with captivated expressions. "I made my decision. This triangle is finally coming to an end."

Riley looked across the table at Maya, who softly smiled at her. They knew that no matter who Lucas chose, they'd still be best friends, because no boy, not even handsome cowboy Lucas Friar from Austin, Texas, could ever get in between the friendship that is Riley and Maya.

"Just spit it out already, Lucas," Smackle said, slamming her hands on the table. "I know you chose me!"

"Smackle!" Farkle protested, lightly hitting his girlfriend's arm.

Lucas chuckled, always amused by the geniuses' antics.

"You gonna tell us, man?" Zay pressed.

Lucas nodded.

"I chose…" Lucas breathed, looking at Maya and then at Riley, "neither."

"What?!" the group said, including Riley and Maya. They were all outraged. For months they were stuck in some weird limbo that affected everyone in the group and all for what? Nothing!

"What do you mean you chose neither?!" Farkle gasped, standing up and banging his closed fists on the table. "We've been watching this for months! You can't just _not_ choose! You're _weak_ , Friar."

"There's… someone else," Lucas confessed slowly, looking around the room trying to avoid his friends' gazes. Riley's eyes grew wide but Maya seemed unfazed.

"So the triangle that wasn't a triangle turned out to be a quadrilateral all along?" Smackle mused, then smirked. She pushed Farkle's face away from her and leaned in Lucas's direction. "It's me, isn't it? Should you break it to Farkle or should I do it?"

"Smackle, it's not you," Lucas chuckled. He knew that Smackle was just always joking around with him and that her heart belonged to Farkle. "There's another girl I've been talking to."

Without another word, Lucas got up and left, fearing whatever else his friends had to say.

"I can't believe he never mentioned anything about another girl!" Zay huffed and followed after Lucas. With the way they reacted to Lucas's news, Zay was sure that Lucas had some built up anger itching to be acted upon.

* * *

That afternoon, Riley and Maya sat at the bay window in Riley's room. Riley still seemed upset by the triangle's 'solution' and Maya couldn't care less, she was just glad the triangle was over.

"Maya, why are you okay with this?" Riley asked with concerned eyes. "You like him as much as I do."

Maya looked around the room, trying to figure out what she wanted to say. She bit her lip. Riley tilted her head when she noticed something was bugging Maya.

"Yeah, about that…" Maya's voice trailed off. She turned to face Riley and took the brunette's face in her hands. "There's something I need to tell you."

Riley stared at Maya with attentive eyes, fearing what was about to come next. The tone in Maya's voice indicated that what she was going to say was really important. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. What if there was no other girl and he was talking about Maya all along?

"I never really liked Lucas," Maya admitted with a sigh, her hands falling from Riley's face and into her own lap.

"What?" Riley swore Maya just said she never liked Lucas, but she wasn't sure.

"I thought about it," Maya began, taking Riley's hands in hers, "and I realized after pretending to be you after the yearbooks came out last year that I actually started to become you. I wanted to see how you saw things in order to protect you. That's why I started 'liking' Lucas"—she used air quotes— "to see if he was good enough for you. And Riley, he's a really nice guy. I can't think of anyone else perfect for you as much as he is. And as for me, you know Josh always had my heart."

"How'd your plan turn out?" Riley asked sarcastically, resentment dripping in her voice.

Maya shook her head with furrowed brows and gulped, "I didn't think it would take this long. I didn't think it would turn out like this. I'm sorry for ruining your chance with him, Riles."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Riley said softly. She was angry on the inside, but because Maya was her best friend, she knew that she'd get over this within a couple of hours.

"I wanted to," Maya wailed, "but by the time I built up the courage to tell you the truth it was too late."

"You know, if you told me this earlier we wouldn't have been in this mess," Riley scoffed, folding her arms over her chest.

"I know, and I'm sorry," Maya looked down at her hands, still intertwined with hers. "Are you mad?"

Riley sighed, "A little bit. But you know nothing gets in the way of our friendship, Peaches. You were just looking out for me, and I appreciate that. Thank you."

Riley pulled the blonde in for a comforting hug.

"So what are you going to do about the Lucas thing?" Maya asked. "I know how much you like him. _Trust me_."

"I don't know," Riley shrugged. "There's nothing I can really do. I think it's finally time I move on. At least he and I are still good friends."

"And the important thing is _we're_ still best friends," Maya rested her head on the brunette's shoulder.

"Because we're Riley and Maya," Riley confirmed with a smile.

* * *

Riley did her homework at her desk. She was aggressively scribbling in her notebook when she heard her phone beep. The specific tone of the beep indicated that it was a notification from her school's social media site. She grabbed her phone and looked at the notification. It was a message from Lucas to her alter-ego, Jexica.

Days after the gang had created their profiles, Lucas came across Jexica's profile while looking for people to befriend on the site. He liked the stuff that was written in her profile. She seemed so optimistic and pure. So he added her as a friend and messaged her. Since then they've been messaging each other back and forth for the past couple of weeks. Riley knew it was wrong to be talking to Lucas as Jexica behind Maya's back, but their conversations were innocent. Riley knew that Lucas wouldn't fall for Jexica, not when he was already torn between two girls. Besides, Lucas had never met Jexica. The friendship between Lucas and Jexica was strictly a platonic one.

"Hi Jexica," she began to read to herself, "I just wanted to let you know that I resolved the triangle I told you so much about. It was really hard to choose between Riley and Maya and I didn't want anyone getting hurt so I figured I'd just do the next best thing. I chose you over them. I've been thinking about the conversations we've had and how I enjoy talking to you. I know we've never met but I was thinking that maybe this would be a good time to meet in person. Just let me know if you want to meet me too and we'll make plans."

Riley buried her face in her hands as she came to the realization. Lucas had dropped the triangle so he could be with Jexica. But Riley was Jexica. This couldn't be happening. If Maya hadn't told Riley the truth about her non-crush on Lucas, she would feel guilty about this. But still, Riley couldn't find herself to feel good about the situation. She knew she should be happy that technically he had chosen her, but she was afraid what his reaction would be if Lucas had met the real Jexica. What if Lucas was disappointed that it was Riley all along?

In a panic, Riley called Maya back to the bay window. Within minutes, Maya appeared again. Luckily, she was at Topanga's waiting for her mom and so the trip back to Riley's window didn't take too long.

"I'm here, what'd you call ring power for?" Maya asked, catching her breath.

"I'm in a predicament," Riley frowned and dramatically looked out the window. She then handed Maya her phone. Maya was confused but took the phone anyway and read the message from Lucas.

"Who's Jexica?" Maya inquired once she finished reading and handed the phone back to Riley. "And how did you get into her messages?"

"Jexica is an alter-ego I made," Riley confessed. She tapped on her phone and handed it back to Maya. The webpage was on Jexica's profile. "I didn't think people would like the real me so I created a fake profile."

Maya scrolled through the profile, realizing how 'Riley Matthews' it was. Maya was hit with sudden realization.

"Oh," Maya's eyes grew wide, " _that's_ why your actual profile doesn't include any of these things."

"A couple of weeks ago Lucas messaged Jexica," Riley explained, taking the phone back from Maya. "I didn't think anything of it so I answered him. Then it became a recurring thing. We'd message each other back and forth. It was nice, because I missed talking to Lucas like that. But what I didn't expect was that he'd fall for Jexica! Maya, this is a disaster."

Maya had trouble understanding why this was such a dilemma.

"How is this a disaster?" Maya asked. "This is great! You still have your chance with Lucas!"

" _No_ , Peaches," Riley said sternly, "I'm not going to let him meet Jexica!"

"Why not?" Maya said as she got up in front of Riley.

"Because he already has an idea of who Jexica is in his head," Riley explained. "What if he's disappointed when he finds out I'm her?"

"Oh, honey," Maya returned to her seat beside Riley and took her into her arms, her head resting on top of Riley's. She brushed the brunette's hair with her hand. "He won't be disappointed. Trust me. I'm sure he'll be thrilled."

"How are you so sure, Peaches?" Riley inquired with sad eyes.

"Because," Maya breathed. "There was never a choice to make. Lucas never liked me, much like I never liked him."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because he's a nice guy," Maya shrugged. "He didn't want to hurt me, because if he hurt me, in a way, he'd be hurting you, too. And as much as Huckleberry cares for me, he cares about you a whole lot more. You were always his top priority. The triangle only dragged on like that because he didn't know how to turn me down without hurting you in the process. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

Riley sat up, her lower lip covering her upper.

"Are you saying he still likes me?"

"Yes, Peaches," Maya nodded. "There's no way he'll be disappointed when he finds out you're Jexica."

With a look of encouragement from Maya, Riley took her phone and sent Lucas a message, telling him she was available to meet up with him at Topanga's tomorrow after school. Maya offered to keep Zay, Farkle, and Smackle away from the bakery during their meeting.

* * *

Riley waited at Topanga's, impatiently waiting for Lucas to show up. She didn't opt for going with a disguise to hide her identity—she was confessing to him that she was Jexica anyway. Riley couldn't stay still and kept shaking her leg out of nervousness, and played with her thumbs. She and Lucas had agreed to meet at the bakery at 4 o'clock sharp, and it was nearing 4:10. Riley knew that Lucas was the punctual type, so it worried her when he still wasn't there. What if he changed his mind about Jexica? Or maybe the subway was late. Yeah, it was probably just the subway…

Lucas finally walked through the door, looking around the room. He frowned when he realized the person he was looking for wasn't there yet. Riley quickly caught his eye when he looked around the bakery a second time. She saw him looking at her, so he gave her a soft smile. He walked over and sat down next to her.

Riley waved then shifted her attention to look back down at her hands. She bit her lip. Should she say something?

After a couple of minutes of silence, Riley finally spoke up.

"Our study session is cancelled today," Riley reminded him. "You waiting for someone?"

Lucas pursed his lips and nodded.

"Oh, cool," Riley replied, "I'm just here to see if my mom needs any help."

Lucas checked the time on his phone, it was nearing 4:30. He looked at Riley and said, "Guess they're not coming though so I should get going."

Lucas stood up but Riley grabbed his arm to pull him back down.

"Lucas wait," Riley said suddenly. She took a deep breath, "I'm Jexica."

Lucas chucked and smiled, "Took you long enough."

A look of confusion took over Riley's face.

"What?" Riley asked with a stunned expression.

"I know you're Jexica," Lucas confessed with a smirk.

"How did you know?" Riley asked, her eyes wide.

Lucas took her hand and covered it with both of his.

"The minute I came across Jexica's profile," Lucas began, "I knew it was you. I'd recognize you anywhere, Riley."

Riley blushed. She didn't know what to think or feel. He'd known she was Jexica all along. What did that mean for the two of them? They shared a lot of deep conversations as Lucas and Jexica, but now Riley knew that those conversations were between Riley and Lucas.

"I am so confused right now," Riley admitted, her big brown eyes bigger than usual.

Lucas smiled, expecting that she would be confused about the current situation.

"I thought this would be an easier way out of the triangle," Lucas admitted. "I've always had feelings for you, Riley. I only went along with the whole Maya thing because you wanted me to. And ever since this whole triangle began we couldn't be Riley and Lucas anymore. We weren't able to talk to each other without feeling guilty because of Maya. So I started messaging Jexica, because I missed talking to you. I just didn't want anyone getting hurt, which is why it took me so long to resolve this stupid triangle. But you know what? It was never Maya. I only went along with it for your sake and because I'm a dumb boy who still hasn't gotten over being passive. But right from the beginning of this mess, I knew there was no choice to make. Because it was always you."

Riley was speechless. She couldn't come up with the words to say to him.

"Please say something?" Lucas sheepishly smiled, holding up her hand that he was holding and caressing it with his other hand.

"So you've never had feelings for Maya?" Riley asked. It was one thing for Maya to assume that Lucas never had feelings for her, but it was another thing for Lucas to actually admit it himself.

"Nope," Lucas proudly replied, popping the 'p.' "I know she's your best friend and all but she's not you."

Riley smiled, and explained to him what Maya had told her last night, about Maya not actually liking Lucas either.

"Wow, well I guess everything worked out then," Lucas said with a smile that reached his ears. He stared into her beautiful brown eyes as he lifted her hand to his face and placed a gentle kiss on her soft skin. "It's you, Riley. It's always been you."

* * *

 **I wrote an alternate ending to this where Riley showed up with the blue wig but I felt that this ending worked out better. The alternate ending pretty much included the same dialogue, just that the reveal went a little differently. Please don't hesitate to leave a review and let me know what you think! Thanks for reading.**


End file.
